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Meteor Streaks Over Prescott

By Nicholas Gerbis
Published: Thursday, February 27, 2020 - 2:57pm
Updated: Thursday, February 27, 2020 - 6:20pm
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Sharp-eyed observers this week might have noticed a fireball streaking through the skies of Yavapai County.

Dozens of witnesses from across Arizona and bordering states reported seeing the meteor on Wednesday.

Mike Hankey from the American Meteor Society in Maryland says another "shooting star" occurred in roughly the same area on Feb. 16.

"It happened like right near Prescott. And there's another really big meteor on Sunday morning, two Sundays ago, that was also right over Prescott," Hankey said. 

But it turns out that meteor sightings are not all that surprising this time of year.

"We in the American Meteor Society, we've been tracking meteors for the last 10 years. We see heightened activity in February every year, without a doubt," said Hankey.

Skies are currently a bit darker as the moon transitions from new moon to waxing crescent phase, creating good conditions for meteor spotting.

Science